The Hunger Games - Crystal Sevina (Cato Love Story) Part 1
by Chloe The Imaginative
Summary: (This is NOT a Clato fanfiction.) Crystal gets pulled into the 74th annual Hunger Games for her sister, Clove. But when something unexpected happens in Crystal's life, what will happen to her in the Games? Will she survive? What will happen if she survives? (My first fanfiction.) And I do not own The Hunger Games or the characters used, other than Crystal. Please comment, no hate.
1. Crystal Sevina

Name: Crystal Sevina.  
Age: 17.  
Boyfriend/Crush: Cato Hadley.  
Favourite Colour: Blue.  
Skills: Sword fighting, climbing trees, fast at running and the ability to heal illnesses and injuries.  
Looks: Long brown curly hair, green eyes, tall and slim.  
Personality: Smart, funny, stubborn, pretty and emotional.  
Family: Parents (Made Avoxes). Clove (Sister) You are not alike but get along well.  
District: 2, Masonry.


	2. Prologue: Before The Games

My parents were made both made Avoxes because they stole food to feed myself and Clove, my sister. I know it seems like no-one needs to steal in District 2 but my father lost his job and we had no way of getting food. My parents were caught stealing by peacekeepers and they were taken to the Capitol away from me and my sister. I have to look after Clove, who is 12 years old, as no-one else will and we are the only ones in our family left in District 2.

A/N: Sorry this part is short, I just wanted to give you some information on how Crystal's parents were made Avoxes.


	3. Chapter one: The Reaping

I open my eyes on the morning of the reaping, I look over and see Clove, my sister, next to me looking worried.

"Crystal?" She asks me. "What if I am picked? I'm good at knife throwing but I don't think I could survive on my own."

"They won't pick you. You're safe." I tell her, if she does get picked I will take her place. "Come on, we should get going or there will be peacekeepers after us." I tell her.

I change into my reaping outfit; a simple dark green dress that I have been told brings out my forest-green eyes and Clove and I leave for the square.

We walk in silence to the justice building, sign in and take our places in the crowd for our age groups. Topaz Monarchfly, our capitol representative, stands in front of the justice building.

"Welcome fine members of district two, to the 74th annual Hunger Games reaping!" Topaz announces. We watch the short video from the capitol reminding us of the war and that every year each district will offer up a male and female child to become a tribute and fight to the death against 23 others. When it finishes Topaz carries on.

"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be _ever_ in your favour. We shall start with the girls." She strides over to the girls' bowl and picks out a name. She walks back, opens the paper and reads the name. _Please don't be me or Clove! _I think. _Please._

"Clove Sevina!" Topaz says. _No! Not Clove! Anyone but Clove! _I am screaming inside my head!I run out of the crowd.

"I VOLUNTEER!" I shout. "I WILL TAKE CLOVE'S PLACE!"

"Crystal don't; it's not worth it." Clove says.

"It's okay Clove." I tell her. "I volunteer." I say loudly and walk up to stand next to Topaz, who smiles at me.

"And your name is..." Topaz says.

"Crystal Sevina." I reply.

"Our female tribute, Crystal Sevina." Topaz announces and the people cheer. "Now for the boys." She walks over to the boys bowl and picks out a name. She walks back, opens the paper and reads out, "Cato Hadley!"

Cato walks up and stands on the other side of Topaz, we shake hands and are lead into the justice building to say goodbye to our family and friends. Clove enters a few minutes later and runs into my arms in a tight hug.

"Crystal, you didn't have to volunteer for me." Clove starts.

"Yes I did. I promised mum and dad that I would keep you safe. I promised them I would volunteer for you." Clove stares up at me with tears in her eyes.

"I don't want you to go." She says.

"I know." I reply. "Don't let yourself starve. Only take what you need." I tell her and she nods. "Clove-" I start.

"No. Don't say goodbye. You will come back. I know you will."

"I'll see you soon." I say giving Clove one final hug. Then a peacekeeper comes to take Clove back. As I watch her leave I say in my head, _Goodbye Clove._


	4. Chapter Two: Journey To The Capitol

Clove is gone. I may never see her again. I do not expect to survive the Games. I just didn't want to watch my younger sister die when I could do nothing about it. I'd like to think that my parents would be proud, but who knows what they think? Most people assume that the people in districts 1, 2 and 3 volunteer because they want to be in the Games. But most of the time it's to save their family members or their friends. The people from the higher districts are seriously misunderstood by the capitol and the lower districts. It's probably because we train for the games in an academy until we are 18, then some of us volunteer as we are not afraid of the games and we are not afraid of dying. The capitol makes us seem like we are heartless, vicious killers but we just care about our friends and families. Although, if truth be told, a lot of us do look like predators. Topaz Monarchfly, Vulga Blueblood (one of our mentors), Thorn Hurt (our other mentor), Cato and I board the train that will take us to the capitol and wave our goodbyes to the rest of District 2. Topaz, Vulga and Thorn spend most of the journey eating, drinking and talking. Whereas Cato and I just sit in silence. I sit next to a window watching my home and Clove disappear. Cato sits across from me. He is staring at me with sadness in his azure-blue eyes. He doesn't say anything to me, so I continue to watch the world whizz past.


	5. Chapter Three: The Tribute Parade

The next day, we arrive in the Capitol. As soon as Cato and I step off the train we are taken to our prep team to clean us up before seeing our stylists and start preparing for the tribute parade. When the prep team have finished putting me through all kinds of pain and beauty routines, I am pushed into a room to wait for my stylist. The door opens. Finally! I think. A fairly young man with brown eyes and dark hair walks in.

"Hello Crystal. I am Caleb, your stylist. I was thinking of your outfit being several shades of blue ranging from icy blue to azure blue. I thought of that particular colour range because your name is Crystal. What do you think?" He asks pulling my dress out of a garment bag. I gasp.

"I think it's perfect." I reply as I look at it in awe. Its strapless and the top half is an icy blue with diamonds in a line along the waist before the dress divided into layers of pale blue ranging to dark blue. It was truly breath-taking.

"Good" He says. "Now put it on and I shall make final adjustments, do your hair and make-up. Okay? Don't be long."

"I won't" I reassure him. I put the dress on and show Caleb what it looks like.

"You look fabulous!" He says. "Now your hair... I think I will just keep it off your beautiful face. So I will put it in a pull-back hair style." He does this to m hair, it takes him around 10 minutes for him to get the look he was after.

"Hmmm, for your make-up I will only outline your eyes in a deep blue, you are so pretty it makes my job that much easier." He tells me. When he's finished I look amazing.

"Wonderful! Just marvellous. Now let's get you to the chariot for the parade." Caleb leads me to Districts 2's chariot. And I see Cato in a blue outfit the same colours as mine. We both step on the chariot and we head out into the parade behind District 1 where Glimmer and Marvel are smiling and waving. Cato and I do the same. But the attention has turned to District 12 as soon as they come out. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are wearing outfits that make fire. It looks real but I know it is fake. They do look stunning but they are stealing the show. We stop in front of President Snow. He says the usual rubbish that I couldn't care less about. And the chariots turn around and we go back into the Training Centre.


	6. Chapter Four: The First Evening

When the chariot stops inside, we are taken by Topaz, Vulga and Thorn to the apartment we will be staying in until the games begin. It has a living room, a dining room, and 5 bedrooms each with their own bathroom. There are two Avoxes that will be tending to our every need. A male and a female Avox. As soon as I lay me eyes on them, I recognise them both. These Avoxes are my parents. Although Topaz is talking to me and Cato, I run to my allocated room with tears in my eyes. I can hear Topaz calling my name but I don't respond. I just sit on my bed and cry. 10 minutes later there is a knock at my door.

"Who is it?" I ask because I really don't want to speak to Topaz.

"It's Cato" Replies a voice behind my door.

"Come in." I cry. Cato comes in and walks over to me.

"You okay?" He asks with concern in his shining blue eyes. I shake my head. "What's the matter?" He questions.

"The Avoxes..." I say. "They are my parents." I tell him hesitantly. I decide that I have no secrets worth keeping.

"Oh, well no wonder you're upset." He says sitting next to me.

"How could they do that to me? They knew I was coming. They knew those Avoxes are my parents." I cry.

"It's okay." He says comfortingly. He puts his arm around me and rubs my back soothingly. "It's okay. You've been through a lot in only a few days; volunteering for your sister then seeing your parents here. It's okay to let out a few tears." We stay sat in silence for a while, then Cato says; "Come on, it's time for dinner and you need to eat."

"I'm not hungry" I tell him.

"Just eat as much as you can."

"Okay." I agree.

We walk to dinner, which is a combination of different rich Capitol foods. Topaz talks about how good we were at the parade and how interesting Districts 12's outfits were this year and how they have stolen the sponsors' attention. Vulga and Thorn tell us how important it is to grab a weapon and how to make the most of the bloodbath and to show off our skills tomorrow in training. But Cato and I just eat and nod every now and then. Thorn turns to Cato.

"So Cato, what are your strengths?" Thorn asks.

"I can fight with a sword, I can run really fast and I am very strong." Cato replies.

"What are your weaknesses?" Thorn asks Cato.

"Umm... I'm not very charismatic." Cato says.

"What about you, Crystal? What are your strengths?" Vulga asks, turning to me.

"Similar to Cato actually. I can fight with a sword, I can run fast, I can climb trees and I know how to heal some illnesses and injuries." I say.

"Any weaknesses?" Vulga asks next.

"Yes, I have a few. I can be very emotional and sometimes I am quite stubborn." I say dismissively.

"Well then." Thorn says. "Tomorrow in training, show your strengths and hide your weaknesses. And get in well with the tributes from Districts 1, 3 and 4."

When dinner is over we all go to bed early for the long day of training tomorrow.


	7. Chapter Five: Training

I wake with a start. _Oh great! Training starts today_. I go straight to training with Cato but not before our mentors reminded us to show off our skills. As soon as we enter all the tributes, including myself and Cato, gather around the head trainer, a tall, athletic woman named Atala. She informs us about all the different stations and training available. The stations ranged from basic survival skills to fighting skills. We are told that we cannot fight another tribute during training. If we need a partner, there are assistants on hand for that. I ignore my mentor's advice about showing my strengths and I decide to go straight to the herb station. I notice Katniss and Peeta have similar ideas to mine. On my way there I tripped over a discarded weapon and I land in Cato's arms as he catches me.

"Sorry. I didn't see that there." I say.

"Don't worry about it." He says, smiling.

"Thanks" I add returning his smile.

"You're welcome." He says, winking at me. I am blushing. _Am I developing feelings for Cato? _I ask myself. _Maybe. _I reply to myself. I can smell Cato's scent on me. He smells of the small forest in our District. Like home. For the rest of training I'm not paying attention to what I am doing. I am too busy thinking about my encounter with Cato. I cannot imagine myself killing him. In fact, I will not kill him.

The three days of training pass by quickly and it is time for the individual tribute assessments. I sit and wait. Glimmer from District one goes in first. Then Marvel, also from District one. Now it's my turn, Cato gives me a supportive smile as I leave. I show the Gamemakers my sword fighting skills, my tree climbing skills and my healing abilities. And then I go back to the apartment. I am greeted by Topaz, Vulga and Thorn. My parents, however, avoid me. I guess they feel guilty for leaving me to look after Clove. A few hours later we are all sat around a big TV screen waiting for the tribute scores. Ceaser reads out the scores of the District one tributes, Marvel and Glimmer. Then he moves onto District two.

"Cato, with a score of 10." Ceaser says and the others cheer. He moves onto my score. "Crystal, got a score of 10." Ceaser runs through everyone else who got average scores, even the 12-year-old girl, Rue, from District 11 got a 7. Finally, the last tribute. Katniss Everdeen from District 12 gets a score of 11! Topaz turns the TV off angrily.

"District 12 show-offs!" Topaz mutters. "But congratulations, both of you on getting a score of 10. Now you will have your interviews tomorrow so you both should go off to bed and get a good night's sleep. You need to look your best tomorrow for the cameras!"

Cato and I bid the others goodnight and walk to our rooms. When we reach my door Cato turns to me.

"Goodnight." He says looking at me the same way he did on the train here.

"Goodnight." I reply. I close the door behind me, walk over to my bed and climb into it not even bothering to change. Ten minutes passes then I fall asleep having been tired from training all day.


	8. Chapter Six: The Interviews

The day goes by so fast I don't even realise it's time for the tribute interviews with Ceaser. My hair is left alone, looking lovely falling in soft dark brown curls. My eyes are outlined in blue to match my dress. My dress is dark blue, strapless again, with a black band around my stomach. Again Caleb has gone for blue. I guess he thought it was a good colour on me.

I sit in my seat waiting for my turn. Ceaser has just finished talking to Marvel from District 1. Then he announces me.

"Now we have the beautiful Crystal Sevina!" He calls as I begin to walk onto the stage. Ceaser welcomes me to the show.

"How are you feeling Crystal?" Ceaser asks.

"To be honest, I feel overwhelmed. From what has happened over the last week. I volunteered for my sister, came to the capitol and started training." I reply.

"You volunteered for your sister?" Ceaser repeats.

"Yes. I made a promise to my parents that I would protect Clove. And I keep my promises." I say. This makes the crowd go 'ahh.' The other career tributes are looking at me with jealousy filling their eyes. But Cato was looking at me, with worry in his sparkling eyes. Come to think of it; he stares at me a lot, _what is going on in that head of his_? I ask myself. He is cute but I don't want to make friends with the other tributes because they may all die.

"That's sweet." Ceaser says. "Crystal, have any other tributes captured your attention?"

"Yeah. The district 12 tributes caught my attention because of their amazing outfits they had this year. District 12 clearly has a great stylist this year." I answer. The crowd gives approving cheers at the mention of District 12.

"Indeed, that did capture everyone's attention, I think." Ceaser says. "So Crystal is there a special boy back home?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Really? A stunning young girl like you must have someone."

"I'm flattered you think that but others do not seem to share your opinion."

"Well, sadly Crystal, your time here is up. And we wish you, the best of luck! Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Crystal Sevina!" Ceaser concludes my part. And I hurry back to my seat. Cato talks about how good he feels his chances are in the Games. He keeps stealing glances at me every now and then. I blush, then zone out of all the other interviews.

When they are all over I go back to my room and drift off into the darkness of my terrible nightmares. Most of them are about Clove being in the games and being killed. I wake up screaming about three times during the night. Eventually I fall into a moderately peaceful sleep.


	9. Chapter Seven: Last Hours of Freedom

I wake at dawn and I am taken by Vulga to the hovercraft that will take all the tributes to their launch rooms.

"Remember my advice!" Vulga informs me. "Join the career pack, kill them in their sleep, then you will be the victor."

I am sat in between Glimmer and Peeta. Glimmer looks overly confident. And Peeta looks somewhat reserved. A woman steps in front of me.

"Give me your arm." She orders holding out her hand. I obey and she injects a tracker deep into my arm. _That will be painful to remove. _The ride is surprisingly short. But as soon as we land I am taken to my launch room and to Caleb by peacekeepers.

Caleb is already in the launch room when I get there. He prepares me for the games and we have a few minutes to spare.

"You can win this you know." Caleb says.

"You believe that?" I ask.

"You don't have to do what you mentors say. You don't have to join with the careers. Once you enter the arena you can do whatever you want. Every decision you make will be your own."

"Okay" I promise myself I will not enter the bloodbath.

_20 seconds. _A woman's voice says. I have 20 seconds left until I enter the arena. I slowly walk to the elevator that will lift me onto my starting plate. _10 seconds_.

"Crystal, good luck." Caleb says. _5 seconds._ I stand in the elevator and the elevator closes. I turn around frantically to look at Caleb. He just nods at me in encouragement.


	10. Chapter Eight: The Games

I am lifted up into the arena and met by a blinding light. When my eyes adjust I see the arena; a forest surrounds the cornucopia and there is a lake across from me. I also see the tributes around me. As far as I can see there's Rue, Peeta, Glimmer and Cato; he is looking sympathetically at me. I hear Claudius Templesmith's voice, announcing the start of the countdown to the official start of the Games. The countdown begins. When it reaches zero, the gong sounds. The noise bounces around in my ears. Instead of running into the bloodbath I run into the trees but I make sure I pick up a sword and a backpack. I look back and see Cato staring in my direction. I give him a little smile and keep running. I keep running, even though I am out of sight. I bump into someone, it's Katniss from 12. We stare at each other on the ground. I get up and offer my hand out to her.

"If you don't kill me, I won't kill you." I say.

"Agreed." She says as she takes my arm and I help her up.

"Good luck" I tell her.

"You too" She says.

Then we run in opposite directions. I run for a while until I am sure I am safe. At nightfall I climb into a tree and look at the contents of my backpack. I have; a sleeping bag, a few crackers, some apples, an empty water bottle, iodine to purify any water I find and some rope. I put it all back into my backpack except the sleeping bag which I crawl into and the rope to keep myself in the tree when I sleep. BOOM! I hear the cannon fire to signify the death of a tribute and I count the number of times is goes off. 15. It fired 15 times. The bloodbath must be over. I should sleep, it's going to be a long day tomorrow.

I open my eyes. It's just after dawn. I untie myself and pack the rope and the sleeping bag into my backpack. Then I climb down the tree. I walk for a while eating an apple, then I freeze when the cannon fires. Another tribute down. 8 left.

Its midday and I am parched. I have found no water source. I keep walking for a few hours. I trip on something that scratches my leg.

"Oww!" I yell. Someone behind me laughs. I roll over to see the boy from District 3, with murder in his eyes. I'm about to get up but he pins me to the ground so I cannot move. I scream at him in frustration and I struggle but soon stop as a pain in my leg grows un-bearably strong. He picks up my sword.

"You should have joined our pack." He says. I know he's talking about the career pack. "Too bad you're going to die. I'm going to kill you with your own sword. I will stab you in the heart!" He raises my sword ready to strike. But a spear goes through his heart. He falls off me and the cannon fires.


	11. Chapter Nine: A New Ally

I look to see who saved my life. Cato is stood several metres away, looking as worried as if a war had started.

"Crystal!" He runs up to me and kneels beside me. "You're alive! When I heard the cannon earlier I was worried you were dead. Are you okay? How badly are you hurt?"

"Cato, I'm fine. I just have a cut on my leg." I sit up to look at my leg which had blood oozing out of the cut.

"Let me look at it." He says inspecting the cut. "Can you heal it?" He asks me.

"It will need medicine I don't have. However I can stop the bleeding" I reply. "But I'm really thirsty. I haven't had a drink all morning."

"Here. Have some of mine." He holds out his bottle of water to me and I take it.

"Thanks" I say after having a few sips. I give him back the bottle.

"You're welcome" He says, smiling. "Can you walk?"

"I don't think so." I tell him.

"Well we can't stay here." He says. He puts his arm around my waist and I put mine over his shoulders. "On three. One. Two. Three" We both stand. Cato supports me as we walk to find somewhere to rest. After 15 minutes of wandering around, we find a hideout. Cato helps me down. And sits beside me.

"What now?" I ask him.

"Well, you should do something about your leg and I'll go and fill our water bottles. There must be a water source somewhere." He tells me.

"Okay but be careful." I say.

"I won't go far." He promises as he leaves. I rip the part of my top off and tie it around the cut on my leg to stop the bleeding.

I start to ask myself questions I cannot answer. _Why is Cato helping me? Why did he leave the careers? Why has he been so concerned about me recently? _Half an hour passes and Cato has not come back yet. Just as I am about to try to look for him, he comes back.

"Good, you're back." I say.

"Here's your water." He says holding out my bottle, now filled with water. I take it and drink some of it. "I think we should get some rest. It's starting to get dark." Cato suggests.

"I think you're right." I say. We both lie down and I fall asleep beside Cato.


	12. Chapter Ten: More Than Allies?

I wake up and think about how well I slept last night. I felt safe with Cato next to me. I have an ally who protects and helps me. I think I may love him because I missed him yesterday when he was looking for water. I turn over to look at Cato. He is staring thoughtfully at the roof of the hideout.

"I think we should try to escape the arena. It has to end somewhere, right?" He says without looking at me. I don't worry about the Gamemakers knowing he has said this because they are probably too focused on the star-crossed lovers of District 12, Katniss and Peeta. I nod in agreement of what Cato has said.

"Let's get going." I say. We pack up our stuff, eat some crackers and an apple. Then we start our journey. Cato helps me walk out of our hideout and we find a small tin on the ground with the number '12' written in the mud next to it.

"What is that?" Cato asks. He picks it up and opens it.

"It's medicine." I answer. "It will help my leg."

"Why is the number '12' written in the ground?" He enquires.

"It's from Katniss." I think.

"What?" Cato seems confused.

"We agreed not to kill each other." I explain. "She must have got this from a sponsor, used it for whatever she had to. Found us. Saw the cut on my leg. And gave me the rest of the medicine." I inform him. I slowly sit myself down to put the medicine on.

"Can I have the medicine?" I ask Cato.

"I'll do it." He says. He kneels down beside me, removes the cloth I used to bandage up my leg and puts the medicine on it. My leg suddenly feels as good as new.

"That feels better." I say. I stand and Cato rises quickly to catch me if I fall. "I think I can walk now."

"You sure?" He asks clearly worried.

"Yes" I laugh. We walk in silence for a while, I had no problems. My leg is still slightly painful, but it is mostly healed. Cato keeps moving branches out of the way for me and he helps me cross a stream that we pass. I think I'm beginning to love him. A few days pass, and my love for Cato grows stronger and stronger. We have almost come into close contact with the careers a few times but Cato keeps me safe. I expect the Gamemakers will do something to drive us all together soon.

A week and half. That's how long I have been in the arena. It's a cold day and by the afternoon it starts to rain heavily. Cato is walking in front of me. Suddenly, he stops dead in his tracks. I stop too, wondering why Cato is not moving. He turns around to face me and whispers in my ear.

"I'm not going to let you die. I love you. I have always loved you, since the day I first saw you on the street and that will never change."

"I love you too." I say hugging him. He leans down and presses his surprisingly soft lips against mine. We stay stood there, locked in each other's arms for a while. We finally pull apart and Cato looks into my eyes.

"Whatever it takes, whatever happens, from now on I swear I will always be there, for you. Always." Cato says. He takes my hand and we continue walking.


	13. Chapter Eleven: Separated

"It's quiet. It's too quiet. I don't like it." I state. Cato chuckles.

"Can't you just relax for a bit?" He says, flashing a smile my way.

"No! We are in the Hunger Games you idiot! There are people out there who want to kill us and you want me to relax." I raise my voice slightly.

"So much for it being quiet." Cato says. I stick my tongue out at him and he laughs. "Come on, we've got to find somewhere safe to sleep" He says taking my hand and leading me further into the forest.

_Fifteen minutes later..._

We've been walking for hours and my feet are hurting like crazy.

"Cato, we've been walking for ages! Can we just rest a bit?" I whine.

"Okay." Cato sighs. "But only for a few minutes." He says sternly.

I nod and pull out my water bottle. I take a big gulp and put it back in my bag. Then I hear a noise in the bushes behind me. I jump to my feet from where I was sat against a tree. And Cato jumps up too. I spin around just in time to see the boy from District 11, Thresh, emerge from the shadows. He has his sword raised, ready to strike. But Cato grabs my hand and pulls me away.

"RUN!" Cato shouts and I sprint off with Cato a few steps behind me. I glance back and see Thresh following us. Cato speeds up a little so he is next to me. And we keep running towards higher ground. I step on an unsteady rock and feel myself fall. I start tumbling down the steep slope.

"CRYSTAL!" I hear Cato scream and then everything goes black.

I slowly open my eyes and I guess its late afternoon.

"Crystal, you're finally awake." I hear a female say. I look over to my right and see Katniss kneeling beside me.

"How long have I been out?" I enquire.

"A day" Katniss replies.

"Did I miss anything?" I ask her. I see sadness start to fill her eyes and they water slightly.

"Yeah, Marvel from District 1 is dead." She hesitates. "And so is... Rue from District 11." I gasp, I knew Rue was only 12 years old; she was too young to die. I could tell from the look in Katniss' eyes that she was upset about Rue.

"You were allies with Rue, weren't you?" I ask showing my concern. Katniss nods. "Oh Katniss, I'm so sorry." I sit up and pull her into a hug.

"Thanks Crystal" Katniss says. I look around the little camp Katniss has set up and I find that we are the only ones here.

"Katniss?" I ask.

"Yeah"

"Where's Cato?" I am really worried now. I hope he is okay.

"I haven't seen him." Katniss replies. "When I found you unconscious, there was no-one else around."

I feel my eyes begin to fill with tears.

"Oh, Crystal." Katniss says putting her arm around me. "I haven't heard the cannon fire since Marvel's death. So I am sure Cato is still alive" She gives me a reassuring smile, which I weakly return.

"Thank you Katniss. For everything you have done."

"We can start looking for Cato tomorrow if you want." Katniss suggests. I am about to object when I realise how hungry and tired, _yep I am still tired_, I am. "Right now you need food and rest" Katniss says handing me an apple.

"You're right." I agree, not feeling in the mood to argue. I accept the apple from her and bite into it.

When we have finished eating, it was late evening.

"I'll take first watch" I say to Katniss and she nods, crawling into her sleeping bag. Soon she falls asleep and I am left to my own thoughts. I can't stop worrying about Cato. I have numerous questions running through my head that I don't know the answer to and they are only putting me more on edge. _Where is Cato? Is he injured? When will we get out of here? _I then remember that I have not been keeping track of who is still alive and how many of us are still alive. A few hours pass and these questions won't leave me alone. I decide it's best for me to sleep so I walk over to Katniss and shake her gently.

"Katniss, I need you to take watch now." I tell her.

"Sure, you need your sleep." She climbs out of the sleeping bag and hands it to me.

"Thanks." I say to her as I snuggle into it.

"No problem" She says. "Goodnight Crystal."

"Goodnight Katniss." And with that I try to fall asleep, but all the while only one thought is in my mind. I am separated from Cato.


	14. Chapter Twelve: Relief, Hope and Danger

I wake up to the booming voice of Claudius Templesmith. He is announcing that there may be two victors if both tributes come from the same District! I cannot believe this rule change! And my mind instantly goes to Cato, I must find him again. Then I remember I am currently with Katniss. We both look at each other.

"I guess this alliance is over" I say solemnly.

"I guess so." She replies. "I have to find Peeta and you should go look for Cato."

"So this is goodbye" I respond. We both stand up and give each other a parting hug. "It is good to have been your ally, Katniss Everdeen."

"You were a good ally too, Crystal Sevina."

"Goodbye and good luck" I tell her.

"Goodbye and may the odds be ever in your favour." She says. And then we both go our separate ways.

There's just one problem... I have no idea where Cato could possibly be. I make my way back to the steep slope where I fell. _I hope I can try and track where Cato ran off to and if he was hurt by Thresh. _I think to myself. _Why am I in these Games? How did I get here? _Maybe things would be different if I had just listened to Vulga. Her words before I was sent to the launch room are repeated inside my head. _'Join the career pack, kill them in their sleep, then you will be the victor.' _But now I remember what made be disobey Vulga. It was Caleb and what he said to me just before the Games. _'You can win this you know'_ I couldn't believe the faith he has put in me. And soon after that he had said; _'Every decision you make will be your own.' _Those words had given me hope. A hope to be able to win. A hope to see Clove again. She has faith in me too. I can still hear her words ringing in my ears _'You will come back. I know you will' _I couldn't bear the thought of her watching these Games, watching me on the edge of her seat, praying that I will emerge a victor.

I reach the place where I stumbled and fell. I look to where the path I was running on continues. There is a trail of destruction in the undergrowth so it won't be as hard as I thought to find Cato. Without hesitation I set off following the destruction. Not long after I set off I find a little blood on the ground. It trails off further into the trees. I follow it not considering the possibility that the blood may belong to Thresh. The amount of blood increases as I continue on. _ I hope Cato is okay..._ I am pulled out of my worries when I hear the cannon sound.

"CATO!" I yell without thinking. I quickly cover my mouth, realising my mistake of shouting out.

"Crystal..." I hear a quiet voice say from behind me. I whirl around to see Cato hidden in the undergrowth. But he has a huge gash on his forehead, probably from Thresh.

"Oh my God, Cato you're still alive! You're okay!" I can't help but let a huge grin spread across my face.

"Long time no see" He says returning my smile.

"Yeah, but what happened to your head?" I ask kneeling down in front of him.

"Thresh." He replies simply. "He got my arm too." He says pulling his sleeve you to reveal a long cut along his forearm.

"That's what all the blood is then." I state. Cato chuckles.

"Is that how you found me then?" He asks.

"Yeah even though it could've been someone else's blood." I reply smirking. "You need medicine on those wounds." I tell him. I take the medicine Cato had put on my leg earlier in the Games and apply it to the gash on his forehead and the cut on his arm. "There you go." I say to him smiling.

"Thanks" He says. Then before I know it he pulls me into a tight hug. "I am so glad you are safe." He whispers.

"I'm glad you're safe too." I say pulling back from him.

"I was so scared when I watched you fall. I didn't know what to do. And then Thresh came and attacked me, so I had to lead him away from you."

"It's okay, you did what you had to do. And we've found each other again so that's all that matters." I lean into him as his familiar warm lips meet mine again. "Anyway, did you hear the rule change?" I ask him.

"Yeah, but I've got a better idea" He says.

"Well then call me intrigued, what is your idea?" I ask eagerly.

"Well after I gave Thresh the slip, I kicked a rock in frustration because I lost you. And it should've hit a barrier around the arena but it didn't."

"I'm not sure I follow." I say.

"I found a hole in the barrier." Cato explains rolling his eyes.

"So we could escape..." I say trailing off.

"Exactly."

"Where is this hole you speak of?" I enquire.

"Behind you" Cato points behind me. I look behind me then back at Cato.

"If we escape we will need to remove our trackers." I say.

"Good point." Cato agrees.

"This is going to be very painful" I say as I pick up Cato's sword. Reluctantly I plunge it into my left arm and pull out my tracker. Suppressing a scream my face twists with pain. I give Cato his sword and he does the same as I did, while I apply medicine to my wound and rip part of my top to from a bandage around the wound. When Cato's tracker is out I apply medicine to his wound too and he rips part of his top off to use as a bandage.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go" I say getting excited. I take Cato's hand and we crawl through the hole in the barrier. Next thing I know I am met by a cold breeze. When we stand up I shiver but my mind is occupied with a different thought.

"We're free!" I exclaim.

"We escaped!" Cato nearly yells. He picks me up and spins me around then brings his lips to meet mine in a passionate kiss.


	15. Chapter Thirteen: Memories of Family

We made camp somewhere in a forest. Cato and I are sat in front of a small fire to keep us warm.

"We won't last long with the food we have" I say as I peer into my bag to see how much food I had left. "Maybe a few days."

"We can find food somewhere" Cato says looking through his bag too. "There are probably animals we can hunt out here and we could find some berries, you can tell which ones are poisoned"

"I guess so." I mumble. "Hey Cato, what do you think the Capitol have said about us disappearing from the arena?"

"I don't know. They won't want to admit that some teenagers broke out of the arena so they have probably said that we are dead."

"What do you think is going to happen to us?" I ask him feeling scared. Cato puts his arm over my shoulders and I rest my head on his shoulder.

"They will probably send out peacekeepers and mutts out looking for us. Then they will torture us or kill us. We need to remain alert at all times. And that means we have to take turns keeping watch at night."

I shiver at the word _torture _and a few tears fall silently down my face. Cato notices.

"Hey, don't cry." He says softly, wiping away my tears with his thumb. "I won't let anybody hurt you, okay? You are my world and I won't let anyone or anything take you away from me. I promise I will keep you safe"

"I'm j-just th-thinking a-about C-Clove. Sh-she pro-ba-bly t-hin-ks I-I'm d-dead al-rea-dy." I say in-between sobs. Cato pulls me into him and wraps an arm securely around my waist. His free hand is stoking my hair as I cry uncontrollably into his chest.

"Shh." Cato soothes. "It'll all be okay. We'll find Clove. I know we are kinda like fugitives now but we'll get your sister and bring her with us okay? We will find our way back to her. I promise you that you will see her again." When he finishes he kisses the top of my head which helps me calm down a bit.

The rising sun is just breaking through the clouds now, spreading its orange rays out like fingers reaching for the pale pink sky. I've been on watch for a few hours now. Not that I got much sleep anyway. I was too occupied by the memory of the last day I saw my sister. In the morning when I woke, when she was scared about being picked. I remember it clearly:

_"Crystal?" She asks me. "What if I am picked? I'm good at knife throwing but I don't think I could survive on my own."_

_ "They won't pick you. You're safe."_

But I lied. They did pick her. Even though her name was in there once and mine was in at least 20 times. My mind moves on to when I was at the reaping, when Topaz called her name:

_"Clove Sevina!" Topaz says. No! Not Clove! Anyone but Clove! I am screaming inside my head! I run out of the crowd._

_"I VOLUNTEER!" I shout. "I WILL TAKE CLOVE'S PLACE!"_

_"Crystal, don't; it's not worth it." Clove says._

_"It's okay Clove." I tell her. "I volunteer."_

I wouldn't and couldn't watch Clove in the arena. It would have meant that I failed to keep her safe like I promised my parents. Now the most painful memory of the three wanders into my thoughts, when I had to say goodbye to Clove:

_Clove enters a few minutes later and runs into my arms in a tight hug._

_"Crystal, you didn't have to volunteer for me." Clove starts._

_"Yes I did. I promised mum and dad that I would keep you safe. I promised them I would volunteer for you." Clove stares up at me with tears in her eyes._

_"I don't want you to go." She says._

_"I know." I reply. "Don't let yourself starve. Only take what you need." I tell her and she nods. "Clove-" I start._

_"No. Don't say goodbye. You will come back. I know you will."_

_"I'll see you soon." I say giving Clove one final hug. Then a peacekeeper comes to take Clove back. As I watch her leave I say in my head, Goodbye Clove. _

One sentence lingers in my mind. _'You will come back. I know you will' _That is the sentence that haunts me. I shake my head at myself. _You will go back. _I tell myself. _I will find you again Clove._ I repeat that in my head until the sun has fully risen.

I wipe away the tears I didn't know were streaming down my face. I turn to the peaceful form of Cato quietly snoring next to me. _He looks so cute when he is asleep _I giggle inside my head. I gently shake him awake.

"Morning sleepy-head" I say smiling.

"Shut up" He says playfully in his morning voice, not opening his eyes.

"Come on, get up" I say shoving him on his back.

"Okay, okay I'm up" He opens his eyes and sits up quickly. A satisfied smirk creeps onto my features.

"We need to get moving." I go to stand but Cato put his hand on my arm, stopping me.

"Hang on. You've been crying haven't you?" It sounds more like a statement than a question. I shake my head but he sees right through me.

"I know you have. Your eyes are all red and puffy." I stare down at my hands. Cato lifts my face up by my chin to look at him. "You've been thinking about Clove." He says gently. I nod and launch myself into his arms. He pulls me close and hugs me tightly.

"I just miss her so much." I say as I bury my face in the crook of his neck.

"I know you do. But just think, in a few days you will see her again." Cato pats my back lightly before saying "Come on, we've got to keep moving if we are to get to District 2 before we're old." Cato jokes trying to lighten the mood. I smile at him half-heartedly. I appreciate he is trying to cheer me up. And I wouldn't have it any other way.


	16. Chapter Fourteen: Between Districts

After we packed up our stuff we started moving again. We don't know where we are going all there is around here a trees, trees and more trees. All of a sudden I can hear a low humming noise but it's very faint. _I'm probably just imagining things. _I tell myself. As we moved several feet forward, I could still hear the humming but it's a little louder now. We kept walking but after a minute or so the humming grew louder and eventually turned into a buzzing noise. I stop dead in my tracks.

"Cato, do you hear that?" He stops moving immediately.

"You mean a low buzzing noise?" He asks turning to me.

"Yeah that noise. What do you think it is?" I enquire.

"As long as it's not what I think it is, we will be fine. Let's keep moving otherwise we will never get to District 2"

"But we don't even know where we are going!" I sigh.

"I promise you we will get there." Cato says and starts walking again. I start to follow cautiously.

The buzzing gets louder the more we advance. My mind begins to wonder to home but I am pulled out of my thoughts when I bump into Cato's outstretched arm.

"What are you doing?" I ask confused.

"Shh. Don't move." Cato whispers.

"Why? What's wrong?" I whisper back.

"Up there. It's what I thought the buzzing noise was." Cato points up to something nestled into a tree. I gasp as I recognise the object. A tracker jacker nest.

"What do we-" I start but I am cut off by a searing pain sent through my right hand. I yelp in pain and clutch my hand.

"Crystal!" Cato exclaims. He grabs my right hand and examines it. "You've been stung." Cato says before he too gets stung but on his neck.

"RUN!" I scream because of the pain that has added from two more stings. Cato grabs my hand and we both break into a stumbling run to get away from the tracker jackers. We are followed by a small group of them. I catch my foot on a root and fall over, my hand slipping from Cato's. Cato runs back and hauls me up but when I take another step I start to fall again. I feel myself get picked up before I go into a sort of daze and all my senses leave me.

_~Hallucination~_

_I opened my eyes to find myself alone in a forest. My mother walked onto the path I was stood on. Followed by my father and then lastly, my sister came too. I was about to rush over and hug Clove when a sword went through her back and she collapsed on the floor, dead. At the same time two peacekeepers appeared and shot my parents and they too fell down, dead._

_"CLOVE! MUM! DAD!" I screamed, staring at their lifeless bodies. I looked up to see President Snow stood in front of me with a gun aimed at my head. _

_"NO!" I screamed before he pulled the trigger._

"IT'S NOT REAL!" I hear someone shout. "CRYSTAL SNAP OUT OF IT!" That voice is familiar. But before I can work out whose voice it is I black out.

I slowly open my eyes and see the blue sky above me, the green forest on my left. On my right there is a lake and a vast wasteland. My senses are slowly returning to me. I can taste the dryness of my mouth. I can feel the ground beneath me and the wind blowing softly over my body. I can smell... fresh water? Now my hearing comes back and I can hear someone softly sobbing beside me. I look to my right and see Cato rocking back and forth on his heels with his head in his hands. I slowly and quietly sit up.

"Cato?" I whisper almost inaudibly. His head snaps up and before I can register what's going on, he pulls me into a bone-crushing hug. When he finally lets me go he says,

"I was so worried. I thought I lost you."

"Cato, w-what happened?" I ask confused as to what happened that could make him so worried.

"You don't remember?" He asks tilting his head slightly. I shake my head. "Well we were attacked by tracker jackers. When we were running away from them you tripped and fell. I ran back to help you up but you had twisted your ankle so you couldn't stand. So I picked you up and continued running. Then the tracker jacker venom took over and you were hallucinating. You started screaming for your parents and Clove. Next you screamed no. And I was trying to get you out of it and said it was not real. Then you blacked out. After that I found a lake on the forest edge and we had lost the tracker jackers. I found some medicine in my bag that would treat tracker jacker stings so I gave us both some and you've been unconscious for a few hours. I thought I lost you."

"I'm still here. Thanks for saving my life." I smile.

"Crystal, to be honest, I'd save your life any day, no matter what. I love you."

"I love you too." I reply and he kisses me.

"We'll rest here for tonight" Cato states and I nod.

"You've never really talked about your family" I realise.

"Well, my father wanted me to volunteer and my mother wanted to live in Victors Village and to be eternally rich so she was praying for my name to be drawn. Neither of them came to say goodbye to me. But I don't really care about them anyway. You're allI need now." I never thought I would hear someone say that to me. I throw my arms around his neck and he wraps his arms around my waist.

It's the middle of the afternoon, and it's still hot in this wasteland. We've been walking for hours and we have to keep stopping because of the heat. Who would've thought it would be so hot out here in between the Districts. Well, I'm guessing we are between Districts. My pace slows and I can't stop panting. The water's gone warm so it's not much in the way of cooling me down. But at least we have some water. Cato has started panting too.

"I think we should take a break now." He says, turning to face me.

"You think!?" I said sarcastically. We sit on the hard rock ground and drink some –no a lot of water. "How long does this stupid wasteland go on for? And how can it be this hot!" I raised my voice and was nearly yelling by the last sentence.

"Let's stay positive. It has to end somewhere." Cato says trying to lighten the mood.

"You said that two hours ago!" I say.

"Yeah, well-" Cato gets cut off by the sound of a vehicle moving across the dirt. We both snap our heads round in time to see a dark truck speeding towards us. It has the Capitol seal on both sides and there are men in white armour-like uniform clinging onto the sides.

"PEACEKEEPERS!" I yell. In a flash Cato is on his feet, he pulls me up and doesn't let go of my hand as we sprint away from the vehicle, which is quite far behind us. But it will catch up to us. I know this. Cato knows this. But still, we run. I take a glance behind me to see a swarm of peacekeepers chasing us and I push myself to run faster. It's hopeless. Soon we are surrounded by about 10 peacekeepers and the truck is blocking the way we were heading. Each peacekeeper has a weapon. Whereas the only weapon Cato and I have is one sword.

"Cato? What do we do?" I whisper.

"We fight." He whispers back.

"But we only have one weapon"

"You take the sword. I can fight them off with my strength." He tells me whilst handing me the sword. The peacekeepers start closing in and me and Cato spring into action. These peacekeepers are fairly easy to take down. I stab at one but they jump aside. The peacekeeper brings his fist up ready to punch me. But when he swings his fist towards me. Cato appears in front of me and grabs the peacekeepers wrist.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you to never hit a girl?" Cato asks mockingly. Then Cato puts his hand on either side of the peacekeepers helmet and snaps their neck. Some people may be scared of Cato at times like this, but not me. I know he will never do anything to hurt me.  
"Thanks." I breathe. Cato nods and gets back to the remaining 7 peacekeepers. The rest of the fight is mostly the same as what just happened. Me trying to stab them, the peacekeeper dodging and Cato killing them. When there are 10 white bodies, motionless on the dirt I have killed about 3 or 4 of them. Cato killed the rest. We turn our attention to the truck in front of us. That's when we spot a horrified looking peacekeeper without a helmet. I'm guessing he was responsible for driving the truck. He steps out of the truck and holds his hands up in surrender as Cato approaches him.


	17. Chapter Fifteen: Home

"P-please don't kill me." The peacekeeper stutters, cowering from Cato. I walk up beside Cato and he takes my hand. "I can help you. Both of you." Cato looks skeptical.

"How could you possibly help us?" I speak up.

"You want to get to District 2, yes?" I nod. "Well, I can get you there. In the truck." He gestures to the large truck behind him. "And if you two hide in the back. I can get you both inside the District unseen with no questions asked."

"How do we know you won't betray us?" Cato asks sternly.

"I won't betray you. Because of this." The peacekeeper pulls up his sleeve to reveal a mockingjay, in a circle holding an arrow in its beak. Katniss' mockingjay from her pin.

"What proof does that hold?" I ask.

"It is the symbol, of the stirring rebellion." He replies.

"Rebellion?" Cato repeats.

"In the arena, after you both escaped, the Capitol announced that you both were dead. The other tributes continued in the Games until Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark from District 12 remained. But then they cancelled the rule change so then only one victor could be crowned." The peacekeeper informs us.

"That's despicable." I spit out and Cato squeezes my hand.

"Indeed. But Katniss pulled out nightlock berries and split them between her and Peeta as they refused to kill each other."

"What did the Gamemakers do?" Cato asks.

"The only thing they could do. They stopped Katniss and Peeta from eating the berries and crowned them both as victors."

"I don't understand. What does this have to do with rebellion?" I enquire.

"Everything. Katniss Everdeen has defied the Capitol. She has given us hope." The peacekeeper smiles. "I'll give you two a minute to decide on whether or not you want my help." With that he gets back into the driver's seat of the truck. Cato turns to me.

"What do you think, Crystal? Can we trust him?" He asks.

"I think we can trust him. We have to do everything we can to get to Clove." I tell him, meeting his azure blue eyes.

"Okay, let's go tell him our decision is made." He kisses my cheek and leads me to the truck. The peacekeeper looks expectantly at us. _I should really stop calling him a peacekeeper._

"Well?" He asks.

"We accept your offer." Cato speaks strongly.

"Very well. Get in the back and cover yourselves up. We are not as far from District Two as you think." Cato nods and pulls me into the back of the truck. I pick up a dark old blanket and throw it over myself and Cato. I snuggle into his warm chest and he holds me close to him. The truck jolts to a start as we start to make our way to District 2, home.

Cato and I were just lying in a comfortable silence when we hear muffled voices. I listen closely and can only just make out what they are saying.

"-what business do you have here in 2?" The first voice demands. This voice is deep and gruff.

"I have orders to follow. Given to me by President Snow himself." The second voice replies. This one I recognise. It belongs to the man/peacekeeper that helped us.

"What are they?" The first voice demands again.

"To pick up a few things from station two. That is all I am allowed to tell you." Our helper replies defensively.

"Fine! You may pass into District 2." The first voice says. "CLEAR THE ROAD!" The first voice roars.

The truck jolts to a start as we continue on. A few minutes later the truck stops. I hear footsteps walk around the truck and step into the back. The cover is pulled of both me and Cato to reveal the man that helped us.

"Here we are. District 2." He steps off the truck and Cato gets off then helps me off the truck. "Now we are behind an old storage unit. You two are fugitives so you need to stay out of sight. Be careful."

"Thanks for helping us." I say. The man nods then disappears. I turn to Cato.

"Here we are." He says. "District 2, didn't I say I'd get us here." A triumphant smiles makes its way onto his face.

"Yeah, but you didn't really get us here, the peacekeeper did."

"Whatever" He rolls his eyes and puts his arms around my waist as he leans in and kisses me. "Now. Let's go get your sister."


	18. Chapter Sixteen: Gone and Lost

"We should wait for nightfall. Then we have the darkness to use to our advantage." I tell Cato.

"Good idea." He says. "We can wait in the abandoned house over there." He points to a little, old house that is isolated from the others. "No-one's been in there for years." I nod and we hurry over to the house and get inside. We sit next to each other, leaning against a wall, out of sight. I can't stop fidgeting nervously. Cato puts a hand on my arm.

"We will get your sister." Cato tells me.  
"I know." I sigh.

"Then stop fidgeting!"

"I can't help it!" I cross my arms over my chest and look away from Cato.

"Look, we won't be here for very long. It's already starting to get dark." He points at the sky through a hole in the roof. I look up and realise he's right.

"I suppose you're right." I huff. Cato just chuckles and puts his arm around me, securing me to his side.

Darkness has settled around the streets. Cato and I keep to the shadows as we creep around the houses nestled in between the mountains of District 2. There is not a single sound in the deadly night. And the silence is making me nervous. We have to find the house Clove and I took refuge in after the peacekeepers took our parents away from us. Then I spot it. That familiar house where I took on so much responsibility for my life and my sister's life. I tap Cato on the shoulder and point towards my house. He nods and we slowly and quietly make our way through the shadows to the house. I quietly knock on the door, expecting my sister to open it but there is no reply.

"Clove." I whisper but there is still no reply. I unlock the door with the spare key under the doormat then I turn the door handle. I have to shove the old door to get it to open.

"Clove." Cato whispers.

"Clove, this isn't funny. Where are you?" I whisper-yell. "It's me, Crystal. Your sister." Still there is no answer.

"Something's wrong" Cato whispers to me.

"I think so too" I reply. I silently step into the kitchen and froze when I spotted a white rose and a letter addressed to me on the table. It has the Capitol seal. I walk over to it with Cato at my heels. I pick up the letter and open it. It reads:

_Dear Miss. Sevina, _

_That was quite a stunt you and Mr. Hadley made in the arena, managing to escape. If you are reading this then you evidently made it back to District 2 whilst avoiding all the peacekeepers. You may have escaped the arena but we will find you. Death is coming your way Miss. Sevina. Oh and your sister, Clove. Yes she's here in the Capitol, away from you. I will not tell you what awaits her but know this, it won't be pleasant. No-one escapes the Capitol. Be on your guard Miss. Sevina._

_President Snow_

~End of Part 1~

A/N: Sorry this chapter is short, I didn't know what else to write in this. But what about my story? I love hearing feedback, so let me know what you think! I had to end part 1 here because I thought it would be a good cliff-hanger. What will happen to Clove? Will Cato and Crystal get her back? What plans does President Snow have for Crystal?


	19. Part 2 is up!

Part Two is out! Find it on my profile! :) 


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